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Mother-in-law's Relatives Nearly Destroyed My Home
墨書 Inktalez
1
After work at noon, I saw an elderly woman sitting at the door. It was midsummer in Jiangcheng at that time, but she was not only wearing a long-sleeved shirt, but also a thick coat on top. Her high-waisted pants revealed bright red long johns underneath, and her bare feet were covered in black dirt. There was a bulging fertilizer bag standing next to her, as well as a large cardboard box with numerous holes.
A woman saw me and looked up at my freckled and mud-stained face: "Who are you?"
"Who are you? Why are you sitting at my doorstep?"
"You are Yun Ya'zi, right? Help me up quickly. I am your maternal aunt. Feng Lian is my sister, and she gave me your home address." Yun Ya'zi is my nickname, but who is Feng Lian? I have never seen the woman in front of me before.
I looked confused, and the woman was a little angry: "Fenglian is Qiu Ying's mother, and I am Qiu Ying's maternal aunt! You don't look stupid, but you are not careful at all in your affairs!"
My mother-in-law has been strong-willed for half her life, she is a particularly concerned rural woman, and every time she sees me, she will earnestly advise: "No matter how you are doing outside, you can't treat people from our hometown badly!"
"It's the maternal aunt, come in and talk!" I greeted warmly with a smile. Although she is still a stranger to me at the moment.
As the woman got up barefoot, a pair of square-toed shoes peeked out from under her bottom, and a sour stench of feet wafted into my nostrils.
"Maternal aunt," she said as I entered, then sat down carelessly, crossed her legs, and placed her dark feet on my sofa:
"Don't bother too much with lunch, just make three or four dishes."
"In the cardboard box, there are two chickens and a pair of rabbits. Find a good place to feed them properly."
"I have dirty clothes in this bag, take some time to wash them for me."
"After finishing the meal, drive back to Annam to pick up your fiance's elder brother. He and your cousin and cousin are waiting at home!"
......
What's going on?
I prepared food and drinks for my "maternal aunt," then hid in the bathroom to call my wife, Jiang Qiuying, who's away on a business trip. She sounded confused on the other end: "What are you talking about? I've never heard of this 'maternal aunt' you're talking about. It must be something my mom arranged. Just play along for now, I'll make a call to ask about it."
I didn't get my daughter-in-law's phone call, but my mother-in-law called first: " Yun Ya'zi, the neighbor's cousin's cousin's older sister said she's going to Jiangcheng for medical treatment a few days ago. You must take good care of her, don't neglect your duties!"
Oh my mother-in-law, how many twists and turns have you taken with these so-called relatives!
During the Spring Festival, I accompanied my wife to her parents' home. My mother-in-law looked at our newly purchased Audi A6 with great enthusiasm and said, " Yun Ya'zi, take me for a spin around the neighborhood!" They say that city people are materialistic, but many people in the countryside are also very practical. When my wife Qiu Ying and I were getting married, my mother-in-law had one central idea: "Either don't have a wedding, or have a big one. Don't have a small one that will make people gossip!"
Who would wear a wig to pretend to be bald! But at that time, both of our families were poor, and it was really difficult to have a grand wedding. My mother-in-law came up with an idea: "When you go back to your hometown, say that the wedding was held in Jiangcheng. When you go back to Jiangcheng, say that the wedding was held in your hometown..." My parents couldn't read a single word, and apart from farming, they didn't know anything else. My father is too honest, and no one is willing to take him to work far away. He is focused on farming our four and a half acres of land, but nowadays, a pound of wheat can't even buy a bottle of mineral water.
Qiu Ying's family is in a difficult situation. Her father suffers from long-term diabetes and high blood pressure, relying on medication to maintain his health. The most significant issue is that there are no boys in their family, leading to them being excluded from various celebrations in the village. Qiu Ying's older sister started farming after finishing primary school and married a man from a different social class to help with the family's work. To make matters worse, the couple had three daughters, which caused distress among the villagers and almost led to depression for Qiu Ying's mother-in-law.
Qiu Ying My college years were extremely difficult. My mother-in-law was very strong-willed: "We've sacrificed everything to support you through college. You must show some results and let those who have looked down on us see that the Jiang family is not lacking, even without a son!" My wife, Jiang Qiuying, and I were in the same class. I was the top student, and she was the most beautiful girl in the class. Other students had a monthly allowance of over 1200 yuan, but I only had 600 yuan, and Qiu Ying had even less, only 400 yuan. We often met at the cheapest stall in the cafeteria, where they sold stir-fried mung bean sprouts. Over time, our unspoken understanding turned into a shared sense of empathy.
We are like Hao Hongmei and Sun Shaoping in "The Ordinary World".
Before getting the marriage certificate, my family and I struggled to pay the down payment in Jiangcheng, and also gave her family a dowry of 128,000 yuan. Although it was much less than the usual 188,000 yuan, mother-in-law did not make things difficult for us. She even spread the word in the village that we had received 188,000 yuan and bought a house.
This is vanity, but it's also to avoid being laughed at by those vain people.
Nowadays, my mother-in-law's temper is getting better just like our financial situation at home, but the practical troubles are also increasing. For example, her relatives often come to visit unexpectedly, and I have to accompany them, entertain them with good food and drinks, and even buy their train tickets when they leave. For instance, there's a so-called "aunt" who puts her dirty feet on my sofa as if she has traveled thousands of miles to visit.
But my mother-in-law has given "instructions" that must be followed.
Fortunately, I own the company and don't need to ask for leave from anyone. After quickly finishing the meal, I hurriedly hit the road, first on the expressway, then the national highway, followed by the provincial road, county road, village road, and finally an unnamed road, until I reached my father-in-law's house. I unloaded a pile of gifts, and my mother-in-law directed, "Go into the mountains, your maternal aunt's house is more than 40 miles away from here."
The twists and turns took more than an hour to reach the destination. A middle-aged man with a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, skinny as a mummy, and a 20-something, big-faced and strong as an ox, weighing no less than 180 pounds, greeted them. The mother-in-law pointed to the coughing middle-aged man and introduced, " Yun Ya'zi, this is your maternal uncle." Then she pointed to the contrasting pair, a man and a woman, "This is your cousin Gousheng, this is your cousin Cuihua, they have never been out, you are familiar with Jiangcheng, take good care of your maternal uncle when he is sick." The three of them each carried a large woven bag and got into the car.
Is this for a doctor's appointment or for moving?
I drove back to Jiangcheng with sparks flying like lightning, and when I opened the door, everything inside made me doubt if I had walked into the wrong house.
The balcony connected to the living room was enclosed by the torn window screens, and two rabbits and two chickens were wandering inside. The flowers and plants on the balcony were either nibbled by the rabbits or scratched by the chickens, and the smell of rabbit droppings and chicken poop filled the air.
The meat, eggs, and fish in the kitchen have all been cooked in the refrigerator. Maternal aunt is sitting cross-legged on the sofa, enjoying her meal, and greets her husband and two children as they enter, saying, "Are you starving? Come and eat!"
This lady really doesn't treat herself as an outsider!
Wait, she's clearly wearing Qiu Ying's clothes. How could she enter our bedroom? Not only her clothes, but also the necklace on the old woman's neck and the bracelet on her wrist are all Qiu Ying's jewelry, which we keep on our bedside table.
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